balanced insanity

Jul 9, 2017

Next time you're at Rustan's Supermarket Shangri-la (I guess they have this in other branches as well), it would be a good idea to purchase the Unicef Ecobag.

After picking up a few items, I realized I forgot my ecobags at home (I sometimes use them instead of the basket). With no empty and available shopping basket in sight, I found the ecobag, decided to get one, and put my groceries in it. The bag is not lightweight but really sturdy. Seems like it's made of burlap material(?). It's
Php 149.00; free with a Php2,000.00 and above purchase (if
I remember correctly).

There was only one design for the bag. I wonder who the artist is; nothing written on the tag. No signature in the design, either.

The best thing about it is it's a collaboration with UNICEF. There's a tag that says Php20.00 will be donated to UNICEF for early childhood care and development programs in remote areas.

Feb 23, 2017

Feb 21, 2017

after running errands (yes, there's a bank open on sundays), i was ravenous. i couldn't wait for sekitori to open at 6 p.m. so, i decided to eat where i was. the day before, my friend and i wanted to try ooma. She messaged me early in the morning to say that her migraine chose to make a special appearance and because it misses her, decided to say with her that day. so, scrap ooma plans. but since i was in megamall, might as well try. at around 3:15 p.m., there was no line and a couple of tables empty so, i was ushered to my table. i browsed the menu, ordered the steak aburi maki and buta kakuni udon. i was right about my orders - delicious!but i'm getting ahead of myself because of all the days, that day was the day i didn't take note of the waiter's name. after taking my orders, he left. i contemplated on eating the LAVA cheese tarts i bought but thought it would be rude to eat them there. so, i brought out my journal and began to write. that's a problem. sometimes, when i write, i lose track of time. it was only when i looked up and saw that a couple in the next section, seated almost 30 minutes after me, were served their orders. i was curious so i told the waiter, "pa follow-up ng orders ko, please" the waiter asked the bar and "looked" for my order, came back to me and asked if i placed my order.oh no. i answered yes, and asked if my order was missing. he must've detected annoyance because he asked me to wait, asked other waiters and then came back asking for what i ordered.i refused to answer the question because i knew that my order was taken. in fact, i asked for the waiter's recommendation and he read back my orders to me. so i knew, he took them down. i guess that's all he did.i still refused to answer the question and kept asking him, if my order was missing. i recognized the waiter who took my order and said he took my order.at that point, beth came up to me and took over the conversation. i told her my orders haven't arrived and she went 'to look' for my order. she came back saying that the first order wasn't of good quality so they were cooking another 'batch.' nice one. after a couple of minutes, my aburi maki came, with profuse apologies from beth.

i enjoyed it. i really did. the steak aburi maki isn't like the typical maki i order. rice, steak, i suspect some leeks (or onions), all rolled up and topped with more steak. fantastic! it's soft, crunchy, smoky ... delicious. then came my buta kakuni udon. still with profuse apologies from beth. at first, it looked like a hodge podge of ingredients; i saw radish slices, young corn, onions, tofu cubes (?), buta, and udon noodles. but when i dug into that steaming bowl of noodles, i groaned inwardly. it was so flavorful! i guess that was the kakuni jus. the buta (pork belly) was so tender. first, i picked up noodles and some veggies. umami! then a radish slice. crisp, sharp, pungent. then i mixed everything and invited myself to the party. fantastic play on flavors and assault on your senses. you smell, taste, and imagine the ingredients. well, at least i did.

as i asked for the bill, beth was still very attentive. she apologized again for the mishap, asked me if it was my first time at ooma. i said yes, and that the mishap was understandable but i wished it didn't have to happen on that day of all days. i stopped myself short of saying it was my birthday. will i go back? definitely ... there are other aburi makis, udon bowls and dishes to savor. personally, it's the food that would make me go back to or even try a restaurant. and ooma, you've got them, you definitely do.and next time, i'll take note of the waiter who takes my (our) orders.